Parental deployment during military conflicts has the potential to impact child adjustment. As increased numbers of military Service members have children, it is critical to understand the association between military deployment and child adjustment. In order to resolve inconsistencies in the existing literature, we performed a meta-analytic review of 16 studies that report associations of military deployment with internalizing, externalizing, and academic adjustment among children. Results indicate a small association between deployment and poorer adjustment. This association varied across several features of the studies. Age moderation was such that the associations are strongest in middle childhood and weakest during adolescence. The method that adjustment was assessed also moderated this association, such that maladjustment was evident primarily with parents' reports. Study design also moderated associations, such that comparisons to civilian controls indicated associations with maladjustment, whereas comparisons to nondeployed military and prepost comparisons did not. These findings summarize the existing quantitative literature to indicate that parental deployment has a negligible association with child maladjustment and provide a foundation for future research.

Latina adolescents experience depression and suicidal ideations in a disproportionate manner compared to their non-Latina counterparts. We investigate suicide and depressive symptoms among a statewide sample (N = 650) of adolescent Latina girls with a focus on bullying as a predictor. Bullying rates are higher than previous studies have found for victimization at school (23%), cybervictimization (26%), school bully (18%), and cyberbully (18%). Rates for depressive symptoms (49%), suicide ideation (23%), suicide plan (17%), and suicide attempt(s; 13%) are higher than national averages. After controlling for depressive symptoms, girls who have been bullied were 1.5 times more likely to attempt suicide compared to girls who have not been victims. However, being a bully increased likelihood of suicide ideation (1.5) and suicide plan (1.4) compared to not being a bully. There is a continued need to prevent depressive symptoms and suicide among Latina girls and to further investigate the effects of bullying.

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Abstract:In reviewing the field of youth development, of which youth workers are a part, it is clear it has had a long and complex history that is intertwined with other disciplines. More recently youth workers have experienced a transformation of sorts, with youth programs in the past being seen exclusively as a place to play and have fun, whereas today's expectations include a much broader focus on the overall positive development of young people. This evolution has been heavily influenced by a number of societal changes that have placed increasing demands on youth programs. Today's youth workers are faced with the responsibility to promote a young person's development which often includes supporting academic success and graduation from high school, reducing risk-taking behaviors, increasing positive health attitudes, and more. Youth workers have seen their role change dramatically over the past 20 years with greater demands and increased accountability.

Participation in youth programming fosters positive developmental outcomes for youth, yet recruitment and retention are ongoing challenges. Given the imbalance in rates of participation of ethnic minority youth, compared with White youth, it is important to gain a greater understanding of the contextual factors that promote or inhibit participation. In this study, the authors considered whether elements of positive youth programming, specifically youth voice and supportive relationships, would reduce potential barriers to continued program participation. Consistent with the extant literature, supportive relationships reduced potential barriers to continuing participation. The key finding from the study, however, showed that youth voice increased potential barriers to participation for ethnic minority youth but not for White youth. The implications for research and practice are discussed.